Oh yeah! I forgot that! Although Fat Albert was written as a sort of Aesop’s for kids, so that’s not as out of place as an 80’s half hour toy ad doing the same. Although a few of THOSE featured death…. in various forms. Like the alt-world GI Joe episode or every second plot on Inhumanoids…. but they were done with a sort of action-y out whereas the Filmation stuff seemed more sincere and serious.

….and looking it up, Fat Albert had a LOT of heavy episodes, especially for an old-school Filmation series.

Don C.

I found out years later that Windsor Ont was a dumping ground for warehouse overstock, and that’s why we used to get so much strange stuff…. like TONS of super-cheap Japanese model kits. I still have literally HUNDREDS of them. As kids and teens we used them almost as currency. (After Robotech they became “collector’s items.” *sigh*)

>These are meant to capitalize on shows like Bravestarr and Galaxy Rangers (which I’ve never seen).

Really?!?!? Galaxy Rangers is pretty good. Bravestarr had a lot of interesting stuff and some fantastic designs, but was hampered by the Filmation treatment. (Although I think it was the only show that had someone actually die in their obligatory 80′ anti-drug episode.)

>It amuses me that those shows weren’t all that popular, so why are there so many rip-offs?

The Galaxy Rangers was VERY popular, but with the wrong demographic. It skewed old; 14 to 18 or so, which made it real tough to get any sort of sponsors…. which in the 80’s was death for a cartoon. On the DVDs they mention that Jerry Orbach’s wife used to get annoyed that the majority of fans seeking autographs did so ‘cos of the Rangers.

Don C.